The Intruder and His Violent Ways
by CreamCheeseAlchemist
Summary: Anarky visits the Once-ler in his office. Inspired by Detective Comics 608-609 and both animated versions of the Lorax.


The Lorax and all related characters belong to Dr. Seuss' estate and Universal Studios. Reference to DP-F 1972 TV special as well. 

Anarky belongs to Time Warner subsidy DC Comics and was created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. He's only appeared in comics so far but he'll be in the Batman cartoon starting next year. 

"So this concludes your tour of the thneed factory." Norma Geisel looks over the crowd, doing another headcount. The redheaded young man with intense green eyes is lagging behind. "Now, if you'll follow me, the gift shop is right this way…" Efficiency over security, there's 5 more tours scheduled that day...

As Lonnie Machin sneaks into the corporate offices, he sticks out less. After all, the redhead's clothes resemble the Once-ler's more than the tourists he had just been with.

The hallway leading up to the Once-ler's office is empty. Lonnie passes by an empty desk, thinking to himself that someone is taking a long lunch. Parasites, parasites everywhere... And the biggest one of them all stares out from a framed picture with the caption "too big to fail." Lonnie glowers at it for a moment and glances up at the sales ticker above it before continuing onto the office to make his preparations and wait.

The Once-ler comes in about 15 minutes later and sits down in that absurd chair of his, unable to see the red figure hiding behind it or the brass Taser staff he carries. All the Once-ler senses is a buzzing sensation and then all goes black.

He blinks back into consciousness some time later tied to the chair by what? The slight butterfly milk scent against his mouth tells him it's a thneed but the masked figure in red then sets down a horribly smelling bucket on the desk whose odor immediately obscures it.

The Once-ler looks into the reflective gold mask, thinking back to when he first looked at himself in the papers wearing his new sunglasses. He shouts something underneath the gag that sounds like "Who the hell are you?" "You can call me Anarky… Aren't you ashamed, you old Once-ler? You ought to be locked in a 'hoosegow', you should. The things that you do are completely ungood." The Once-ler just stares at him in utter disbelief- blue eyes meeting green- did he _rehearse_ this ahead of time, make sure it rhymed? Anarky grabs him by the hair, "I suppose you'd just say if you didn't do it then someone else would!" With his other hand, Anarky pulls out the part of the thneed shoved in the Once-ler's mouth. "That's no excuse!" Anarky snarls as he pushes the Once-ler's face into a bucket full of water from his factory just as police sirens can be heard.

As the Once-ler twitches from having just ingested schloppity schlop, Anarky unties him. "Aww, the police and ambulances… Too bad they're going to evacuate the factory before they come looking for you." He waves the remote detonator and pushes the button, "10 minutes."

"Beanpole, what did you do this t-" the Lorax's voice trails off as he looks at the scene before him- his conviction that the Once-ler was to blame for the chaos this time shattered. The Once-ler's eyes roll inside his head and he collapses in a heap, "M'k sure everyone gets out… Factory g'nna blow…" The Lorax's eyes narrow, "Red, this wasn't what I meant you should do."

Anarky pulls off his hat and mask, "He had to be stopped. If he'd kept it up, all the trees would have been cut down. Now, go do what he asked you."

"You know the police aren't going to let you go for this, Red."

"I know. But he'll at least have a chance of surviving this if I bring him out now." The Lorax watches Anarky gently pick up the Once-ler, finding the redhead's expression hard to read.

"Everyone made it out, beanpole," the Lorax reports softly as the Once-ler is loaded onto the ambulance, even as he is sure his words fall on deaf ears yet again. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Once-ler's family by the ruins of the thneed factory. Noticing the luggage in their hands, he asks, "You gonna go stay at the hospital with him?" Their laughter sends a chill down the Lorax's spine. A creature of nature, he recognized the unnaturalness of beanpole's pack from the first time he saw them but this? The mother is the only one of them who doesn't join in the laughter, her face cold. "We're leaving. Oncie- Mr. Once-ler brought this down upon us and it wouldn't be right for us to stay in such a dangerous place." The Lorax stares at her for a moment before quietly sitting down in the ambulance, next to the skinny pale figure lying there who might never wake up again.

As the RV and ambulance drove away from each other, the Lorax looks out to see Anarky being read his Miranda Rights.

TBC


End file.
